Roundtrips with N’glish 10/18/2010 (Transition part 2)

As many of you know we have a song titled “768″ which refers to the speed of sound. I decided to call this part “768″ for a different reason. In the last 30 days we’ve had some interesting developments that I’ve been pretty silent (Roundtrips, twitter, etc) on until this very moment. Speaking of the last 30 days, I’ll mention that some friends of the band, Vera and Tracey, saw us in Scotland, Dublin #1, and Stuttgart… which means they had a rare chance to see us with three different amounts of performers on stage. Scotland (and anywhere else) = 7, Dublin first show = 6, Stuttgart = for the first time in N7 history we had “8″. Thus 7-6-8… get it?

So let’s jump in and talk about it. Jamal Reed has decided to retire from the touring with N7, chiefly to spend more time at home with his family. He announced this to us this past summer and we respect his decision and wish him warm blessings with all his endeavors into the future. This would mark only the second original member change to take place in our history. Although Jamal originally replaced David LaRoche (The member seen on the cover of Non-Fiction), it was so early in the game (less than a year from our start) that we considered Jamal an original member. Changing vocalists has never been easy for us and we’ve been blessed to have had very little experience doing it in the past. We are kind of a family and it goes beyond singing. We spend much of our lives together with so many aspects intertwined. So when looking for a new member… there are so many things to think of outside of just singing. And did I just say “just singing”. I’m not sure that that phrase works when I sit down to talk to you about replacing Jamal! What’s that you say? Oh, you know… of course you do. You wouldn’t be reading this or know anything about N7 if you didn’t know that Jamal was a force to be reckoned with in any vocal circles!

So I’d like to tell you a little about the guy who stood to my right for the last 10 years…

Comments

Jamal Reed will always stay in our heart as a member of Naturally 7! Thank you for the last years you spent with us and now it’s time for you to enjoy spending a lot of time with your family! We’ll miss you – all the best :-)

Ishbel MunroonOct 19, 2010 at 22:26

What devastating news! Jamal is unique and will be sorely missed. However, family must come first and all good wishes go with Jamal and his family as they embark on the next step of the adventure of life. I have loved every note of every Naturally 7 album I have heard and every moment of every Naturally 7 performance I have seen. I feel blessed to have been introduced to such a creative, innovative and entertaining band. Good luck to Jamal and good luck to the band. When one door closes….. another opens! God bless!

Can’t believe Jamal is leaving…. I understand his need to be around his family!
You said “just singing”…. Jamal is nowhere near “just singing”! ;-) He was and is incredible!! And it will be even more difficult to replace him! The high notes he reached…. There are no words to discribe his contribution to N7…Hope you will find an incredible singer to replace him… but it will not be easy!!
Jamal.. all the best!! To all the others… make us proud….and hope to see you all again… SOON!!